Minca was one of our favourite stops in Colombia, jungle life, friendly locals, amazing scenery and a completely safe environment… we loved it!

It may be a place you haven’t heard of, though it’s worth visiting either as a backpackers or as part of a holiday. To get to Minca, you first need to travel to Santa Marta, which you can read about in ➡️ our guide here. Once your there, it’s only a short distance away.

Here’s our guide to the Top 5 things you must do whilst staying in Minca, for a small place it has lots of awesome things to do!

What to do in Minca!?

1. Hike to Pozo Azul waterfalls

Fancy swimming in a natural river, with a waterfall behind you? Or jumping off the rocks to take a swim? This is the place in Minca to do it! The water is pretty cold though very refreshing… we had a bet of who had to dive under (Shay lost). The short trip only takes about an hour and it’s a simple hike, just try to look for the signs you’ll find along the way, not get lost like we did! Cost: Free

2. Sleep in a jungle hut at Casa Loma

This was our #1 highlight of Minca, firstly this is one if the best hostels we’ve ever stayed in, there’s such a great vibe, good food & friendly staff who will help you with anything. Secondly, the jungle huts are pretty damn awesome! If you’re one for going back to the elements and being surround by nature – this place is a must visit. Website: Casa Loma Cost: $115,000COP/$36USD pp

The climb to the top is worth it!

3. Go Birdwatching with Jungle Joe!

We’re not avid bird watchers & this was in fact our very first bird watching tour, though we loved it! Jungle Joe is a character himself and made this tour informative and fun. An early start is needed to catch the wildlife waking up, we really didn’t appreciate just how many bird species exist in Colombia until taking this tour, we’d definitely recommend it. Location: on the main road, past the bridge, just a few steps past the colectivo bus station. Website: Jungle Joe’s Cost: $30,000COP/$9.60USD pp

4. Wildlife spot from a cafe – Lazy Cat

After a day’s hiking or maybe just some downtime, there is one pretty cool spot in Minca to have a coffee and relax, Lazy Cat. Grab a seat out the back, and within a few minutes you’re sure to start seeing wildlife in the trees around you. Website: Lazy Cat Cost: A coffee

5. Watch beautiful Sunsets

That’s right, you will want to see more than one here! The colours of these sunsets are something else, blue, pink, purple, orange, the sky is alive with colour each night when the sun goes down. Our favourite spot to watch this was at Casa Loma, they even have a dedicated spot for it! Cost: Free

Thats our top 5 for Minca, if you go (which you should), we’d love to hear from you and know what you think to it. If you have questions on how to get there, or anything else just message or Whatsapp us and we’ll help you out.